Modify Exif Date and Time tool running wild?

[lightchaser]

Dear Forum Members,
I use IM 5.6.6. When I still used 5.? I once used the Modify Exif Date and Time tool an changed a date. Now every time when I import images into IM (this happened with the old version as well as with the new version), IM automatically changes the Date created timestamp to exactly the time I used when I did this tool for the first time. It doesn't change the "time digitized" though. I then have to use the tool again and set the correct date and thereby lose the specific time. When I do the next import, the date is not changed to the last date used, though that is shown in the Exif Date and Time tool. No, it always changes to the date I used at the very first time.  Can I do something against this nasty behaviour of IM?
Franz

[Mario]

IM automatically changes the Date created timestamp to exactly the time I used when I did this tool for the first time.

Impossible. IMatch does not change metadata by itself.
Which timestamp do you mean exactly? EXIF? XMP? Where do you check this?
IMatch only imports existing EXIF date and time information into XMP, applying the mapping rules defined by the metadata working group.
We need a lot more details, sample file, your metadata settings etc. to get an idea of what is going wrong on your system.

[jch2103]

This almost sounds like you set up a Metadata Template with that date and then set it to automatically apply the template during file import...?

[lightchaser]

I see this in Metadata Panel, Default, Core data, Date Created. Interestingly the date and time are not altered in date digitized. No template set up. See attached screenshot.
Franz

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Mario]

Date created and date digitized shown here are the contents of the XMP record.
IMatch fills these tags in the XMP record on import from the existing EXIF data in your files. If your files contain legacy IPTC data, and the IPTC data has timestamps, these are used instead (IPTC data entered by the user is considered more important than EXIF data created by the camera).

Please show us the metadata in your file.
Select the file and run the ExifTool Command Processor (<F9>,<E>).
Select the "List Metadata" preset and run it with <F9>.
This dumps all the metadata in your file into the right window.
Select all, copy into a text file and attach the file to your reply.

Note that when you use the Modify EXIF date and time command, only XMP and EXIF are modified. Not IPTC. If your file contains IPTC data as well, you need to set that manually or remove the time stamps. We had a user with the same problem last week. You should be able to find the thread using the community search function.

[lightchaser]

This date and time is the problem: 2015:08:15 18:53:16. Attached you find the metadata txt-file.
Franz

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Mario]

Your file has legacy IPTC data:

IPTC ApplicationRecord\Date Created   2015:08:15
IPTC ApplicationRecord\Digital Creation Date   2016:01:17
IPTC ApplicationRecord\Digital Creation Time   12:18:42
IPTC ApplicationRecord\Time Created   18:53:16

and this will be preferred over EXIF data when the file is imported. IMatch will import these timestamps into the XMP record, not the EXIF timestamps.

Please see this recent thread (especially my answers and suggestions):

https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=5140.msg35731#msg35731

[lightchaser]

Thank you Mario for your support. Now I have narrowed the problem a bit. I remembered that I haven't always seen this behavior. Now I imported an image (RAW) before the date 2015:08:15 18:53:16 (that appears after import in "date created" which I once set in the Exif Time Tool) and realized, that no change of time happened in this case. It apparently doesn't effect images taken before the above date.
Then I imported an image from last december after the special date and encountered the odd behaviour again. Sorry, as I'm not a digital professional I could not really understand your suggestion in the previous thread. I altered nothing in the time Metadata of the RAW image, date and time are okay in Lightroom. After importing the image into IM I have this odd date in my core data where I regularly add headline, keywords, description, city and so on. What I am most concerned about is that I bring problems to my image library when I send images with different time data. Why is IM changing metadata? I can only say that the date and time is that one that I once used to change  the "date created" with the Modify Exif Date and Time tool. Maybe it is considered impossible by Mario but for me it is actually happening when importing new images.

[Mario]

IMatch does not change any metadata.
But remember that your file contains many different timestamps: EXIF, IPTC and XMP.

Exif\Create Date            2016:01:17 12:18:42
Exif\Date/Time Original   2016:01:17 12:18:42

IPTC ApplicationRecord\Date Created                   2015:08:15
IPTC ApplicationRecord\Digital Creation Date   2016:01:17
IPTC ApplicationRecord\Digital Creation Time   12:18:42
IPTC ApplicationRecord\Time Created                   18:53:16

As you can see, the IPTC data is not the same as the EXIF data.
When IMatch maps existing metadata on import into XMP, it prefers the IPTC data over the EXIF data. Because IPTC data is entered by humans and thus considered more important than the EXIF data filled in by the camera. This is in accordance with the Metadata Working Group rules.

When a file has IPTC timestamps, they will be used. If you don't want this, the IPTC data has been added not by you etc. you can either correct the IPTC timestamps or remove them from the file. The other thread explains that in more detail.

Unless your workflow, clients, web sites etc. need legacy IPTC data, you may even remove it completely from your file. This type of IPTC data has been declared as outdated 10 years ago. Maybe you changed your workflow recently or used other applications which create legacy IPTC data? Or did you add the IPTC data to the file? IMatch 5 does not do this by default, it only updates existing legacy IPTC data but does not create it.

Note: When you change the XMP date and time shown in IMatch in the Metadata Panel, IMatch will update both EXIF and IPTC on write-back. This should fix (aka synchronize) the timestamps.

[lightchaser]

Problem no longer existing after update to the latest version of IMatch!
Franz

[Mario]

No change in that area for a long time.